406 rear wheel allignment Fact or Myth

[Teaup]

Hi,
I have a 1998 406 diesel estate. Both the rear tyres are wearing on the inside down to the canvas after six months 5000 miles.
Tyre fitters had no idea why,
Mechanic suggests lower ball joint.
Both stated no adjustment to rear wheel allignment on the rear of the 406 therefor no point paying out for 4 wheel allignment.

I have looked under the vehicle and in the workshop manuals, the workshop manual does not show or recommend rear wheel allignment as a routine service or after any repairs and I cannot see anyway of adjusting the rear wheel allignment. The nearest and best explanation I have heard for uneven wear on rear tyres is rear springs worn/weak which is also a common fault which occurs with boy racers cars after lowering their suspension.

So my question is; Rear wheel allignment on a peugeot 406 Fact or Myth?

[Catflem]

Have a butchers at viewtopic.php?f=27&t=14007&p=129446&hil ... es#p129446

[Teaup]

Have a butchers at viewtopic.php?f=27&t=14007&p=129446&hil ... es#p129446

Thanks for the link Catflem I see you seem to have had the same problem. However I still have questions
Catflem; did you renew these parts and did it cure the problem ? http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... K:MEWNX:IT Also did you Get a 4 wheel alignment ?

[Gary406]

do you have any knocking or bumping from the rear ?
yes you will need a 4 wheel allignment after changing those parts if your tyres are wearing bad now.

if the tyres are wearing bad you may as well change those parts just before a 4 wheel allignment.
there is no real need to change them if yours havnt gone . but it would be daft not to if your having a 4 wheel allignment.

reason = a 4 wheel allignment costs around £50 so if you pay that then the links fail you would have to have it done again
so best to change them anyway.

[Teaup]

Gary406

All over your post is your recommendation that a 4 wheel allignment is necessary after fitting rear anti roll bar stabiliser links http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... K:MEWNX:IT I disagree!

Having a 4 wheel allignment after fitting rear anti roll bar stabiliser links is a waste of money

Reason= if you look at the rear anti roll bar stabiliser links catflem fitted you will see there is no adjustment on them neither is there any adjustment available to any other part of the rear suspension, there is also no mention in any workshop manual that after fitting new rear links a 4 wheel allignment is necessary.

Failure of the rear anti roll bar stabiliser links is a common fault on the 406 and a straight forward replacment of the faulty part is all that is required. The links are a set length with no adjustment and therefore no need to waste £50 having a 4 wheel allignment.

Anyone thinking of replacing rear anti roll bar stabiliser links should consider the quality of the parts they are buying.
Reason= the rear links are a specfic length and there is no way of adjusting them, therefore, a cheap copy could be the wrong length and cause the rear wheel to be pushed out, pulled in resulting in uneven rear tyre wear.

[teamster1975]

Gary406

All over your post is your recommendation that a 4 wheel allignment is necessary after fitting rear anti roll bar stabiliser links http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... K:MEWNX:IT I disagree!

Having a 4 wheel allignment after fitting rear anti roll bar stabiliser links is a waste of money

Not the ARB drop links, but if you change the top stabiliser rods they have an adjustment for the rear wheel camber. It depends whether they were set in the right position before they started failing.

[Teaup]

Teamster1975

Can you upload diagram of rear suspension on 406 and show which links / rods you are refering to as the drop links nor the rear anti roll bar links have any adjustment for camber/toe in /out.

The links catlem and gary are refering to are the anti roll bar links.

[teamster1975]

Take a look at this thread.
No 13 on diagram. It's nothing to do with the ARB.

BTW Teaup, the link that catflem linked to was perfectly valid, it's the auction title that is wrong.
I would get them from eurocarparts, buy the OE ones. The ebay pattern parts are complete and utter crap.

[Teaup]

Teamster1975

Number 13 is a standard rear anti roll bar link. These links are a metal rod fitted with a ball joint at one end and a bush at the other
they have no adjustment neither is there any adjustment on the rear to alter the camber on these links.

I have read the shortcut link you provided and seen the pictures of both the drop link ( plastic) and the and the anti roll bar link in that post, you will see there is no way of adusting either link, it should also be noted the price/quality difference in the parts.

406 4 wheel allignment is not necessary.

P.S I agree OE is best however not sure euro spares sell Original Equipment.

[teamster1975]

Teaup. Item 13 is the top stabiliser link rod. It has nothing to do with the antirollbar. The bolt that secures it to the chassis has a cam on it for adjusting camber.
Item no 3 is the ARB drop link.
People are trying to give you advice and everyone has a valid point; I have replaced these parts twice on my car now (the first lot were from ebay hence my warning; they lasted a year)

[Teaup]

Teamster1975

Just been under my car looking for bolt cam washer without success ( both sides), i'm now going to my local tracking centre / garage to see if they can advise/adjust. will post back later.

[teamster1975]

Totally forgot I had a photo of it, have a look at this:
It's a terrible photo but you get the idea.

[Gary406]

Gary406

All over your post is your recommendation that a 4 wheel allignment is necessary after fitting rear anti roll bar stabiliser links http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... K:MEWNX:IT I disagree!

Having a 4 wheel allignment after fitting rear anti roll bar stabiliser links is a waste of money

Reason= if you look at the rear anti roll bar stabiliser links catflem fitted you will see there is no adjustment on them neither is there any adjustment available to any other part of the rear suspension, there is also no mention in any workshop manual that after fitting new rear links a 4 wheel allignment is necessary.

Failure of the rear anti roll bar stabiliser links is a common fault on the 406 and a straight forward replacment of the faulty part is all that is required. The links are a set length with no adjustment and therefore no need to waste £50 having a 4 wheel allignment.

Anyone thinking of replacing rear anti roll bar stabiliser links should consider the quality of the parts they are buying.
Reason= the rear links are a specfic length and there is no way of adjusting them, therefore, a cheap copy could be the wrong length and cause the rear wheel to be pushed out, pulled in resulting in uneven rear tyre wear.

i know teamy has posted about this.

look on the inside of the toplink bar at the bolt that holds it into place. you will then see its not a normal type bolt. if you turn this is adjust the wheel.

a 4 wheel allignment is not needed on changing anti roll bar links as teamster said. but the one in your ebay link here is not an anti roll bar link.

these are the anti roll bar links on 406s. changing these bits (pictured below does not require wheel allignment.

FRONT



REAR

[Gary406]

PS - from my 1st post. explained a bit better.

if you change your rear toplinks (not anti roll bar link)
and put the bolt back in the same place on the chassis side. you will not need a wheel allignment (because you put the bolt back in the same place)and this wont adjust the cam position

but, because your tyres are wearing un-even your car needs a wheel allignment anyway (take notice which bolt they turn when adjusting your rear wheels)it will be the inside one that bolts the link to the chassis

so it would be daft not to change the toplinks before you spend £50 on a wheel allignment

you could just get the wheel allignment done and not replace the links BUT, if the links go in say 5 weeks and whoever changes them doesnt put them back the same way you will be paying for another adjustment.

[craigtd]

all 406's need 4 wheel allignment if the top link rod bolts on the rear are moved, and that comes from me who has worked on them for years as a pug tech.